When we stay faithful to our partners, is it because we full heartedly love them and have no desire to be with anyone else, or is it because we know cheating is societally unexceptable? Are we driven by love or by society’s norms? Loyalty, a complex and rich concept, is necessary for the functioning of any arrangement, civilization, relationship, and so its power should not be undermined, but it is interesting to try to trace back its source. Often loyalty is associated with self-sacrifice and putting others first, but perhaps such selflessness has been incorrectly tied to the term. While performing loyal acts can be seen as selfless, they are often self motivated. That is, perhaps I follow through with a plan, because I know if I don’t, you will not next time. Or maybe, I am a loyal friend because I want to be accepted and liked. Helping others often comes from our hopes to be reciprocated or our desires to feel good ourselves. Thus, while loyalty in execution seems genuine, it is also often mixed with more selfish causes.
This doesn't really seem to fit into any category. It is more of a social science question than a media question. If you can connect it to works or literature of media then you might have a topic here, otherwise as it stands it doesn't work. – LondonFog7 years ago